Hacking Yet another "which one should I get" topic

[cmonster]

Salutations,

I was wondering which of the following I should purchase: DS-X, G6, or M3? I understand that DS-X has no GBA support and I don't really mind as I consider being able to play GBA games a bonus. However, is DS-X good for everything else? As in, does the DS-X make up for every other areas(NDS support) for not having the GBA support?

I also understand that M3s are good since you can expend the memory by buying SD cards but are there any other reason to to buy this card over G6 or DS-X? What about vise versa?

Sorry for asking so many questions, I'm a newbie at this and I really need some help picking one out. I would buy both but I'm so broke from buying so many import games (the reason why I'm trying to save money now).

- I don't mind GBA support as long as everything else is stable.
- I'll be mainly using it to play import games and maybe watch videos(very occasionally).

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[ugly_rose]

The M3 wins over the G6 and DS-X in that it has the expandable memory, and over the G6 at least in that it has better homebrew support.

The G6 wins over the M3 and DS-X in that it sits in my DS (Btw, I don't like expandable memory for the risk of damaging the tiny memory cards. I have had these in my cellphone for ages so I am well aware of the risks.).

The DS-X wins over the M3 and G6 in that it is just drag and drop with the roms (very very convenient) and is connected directly with a USB cable, eliminating the need of any memory card readers or USB burners. Given that the DS-X team is now doing well with giving out firmware updates (for compatibility and bugs) this card would be my choice.

According to my opinion the slot-1 solutions in general are, in many ways, the best you can get.

 

[cmonster]

Thank you so much for such a fast and kind reply! I am actually leaning towards DS-x but I've been reading a lot of negative things about it which made me waver a bit. I guess it's safe to go with a DS-X seeing that I want more simple and effective method without any complications.

In your opinioon, is 4Gbit enough to store roms in? Any problems I should be aware of before making this purchase?

Thanks you again for your kind reply.

 

[Hypnotoad]

edit:

If you consider GBA games a bonus, and you think you might want to play some of them down the road, you should get a slot-2 card. Any of the slot-2 cards work great as of now, and all are fairly easy to use. You could go with one that had memory on board (G6 Lite), or you could go with one that has removable memory (M3, SuperCard, etc). They all come with their own software pack to patch the roms. Patching is so easy even a complete idiot could do it, just a couple of clicks and then hit 'run'.

If you think you might want to use your card for mutimedia too (think mp3s/videos/etc), I'd recommend getting something with removable memory. 512mb isn't much room once you start filling it up.

 

[Destructobot]

In your opinioon, is 4Gbit enough to store roms in?

I have 12 DS roms and 12 GBA roms on my 4Gbit G6 lite right now, with 212 Mbits free space left over. That's including three sets of save files for each game. Unless you go for long periods of time without access to your computer, that should be plenty.

8 Gbit carts should be coming out pretty soon(in about a month if you believe the rumors) if you really need more space but don't want to use removable memory.

 

[sandreezy]

m3 has best compatibility. in my honest opinion anyways. they also are ready to patch as soon as a new game gets dumped

 

[deathspawn999]

m3 does not have best compatability. m3/ds-x/g6 all have around the same compatability, with ds-x being slightly ahead right now with the new tony hawk game not needing patches/updates.

the best compatability is ezflash i believe. i could be wrong on this, but its not one of the 3 i mentioned earlier in this post.

 

[Smuff]

*EDIT* Sorry - went off track a bit there

 

[ron555]

In your opinioon, is 4Gbit enough to store roms in?

No. Seriously, it is not.

QUOTEI have 12 DS roms and 12 GBA roms on my 4Gbit G6 lite right now, with 212 Mbits free space left over.

12 DS games? What are they, 8MB each?

The fact of the matter is, is that most GOOD DS games (e.g. Osu Tatae, new kirby, bleach) are very large in size (64-128MB).

Don't go for the 4 gigabit solution. You'll be sorry.


The M3 lite is a seemingly perfect (overpriced) solution; i've used the G6 lite which has a similar interface and nearly threw myself out the window in agony.

Whoever designed the interface for the M3/G6 needs to be senselessly beaten several times.

 

[CronoTrig]

In your opinioon, is 4Gbit enough to store roms in?

No. Seriously, it is not.

I have 12 DS roms and 12 GBA roms on my 4Gbit G6 lite right now, with 212 Mbits free space left over.

12 DS games? What are they, 8MB each?

The fact of the matter is, is that most GOOD DS games (e.g. Osu Tatae, new kirby, bleach) are very large in size (64-128MB).

Don't go for the 4 gigabit solution. You'll be sorry.


The M3 lite is a seemingly perfect (overpriced) solution; i've used the G6 lite which has a similar interface and nearly threw myself out the window in agony.

Whoever designed the interface for the M3/G6 needs to be senselessly beaten several times.

12 x 8 = 96. The DS-X has 512MB internal memory.

512 / 64 = 8. That's 8 'GOOD DS games', as you said. 8 games is plenty for most users.

 

[CatScam]

Here are the cons or problems with each of these slot-2 cards I have found.
I have not yet played enough with the EZ to make a decision.


SUPERCARD
Only 90% GBA compatibility


M3
Slow cumbersome menus
Less Homebrew support
Annoying splash screen
Unreliable game saves
Side loading
Price


G6
Slow cumbersome menus
Only 512 Meg of Ram
Bad Homebrew support
Annoying splash screen
Unreliable game saves
Volatile Ram
Price

 

[Destructobot]

12 DS games? What are they, 8MB each?

The fact of the matter is, is that most GOOD DS games (e.g. Osu Tatae, new kirby, bleach) are very large in size (64-128MB).

These are the DS game I have on the G6 lite right now:

Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow
Dragon Quest Heroes - Rocket Slime
Frogger - Helmet Chaos
Hoshi no Kirby Sanjou Dorocche Dan
Konductra
Mario and Luigi - Partners in Time
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 - March of the Minis
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Scurge Hive
Shanghai
Tetris DS
Trauma Center: Under The Knife

That's seven 64 megabyte roms, four 16 meg roms, and one 8 meg rom. All trimmed of course.

So far I've had no save related problems with the G6. The DS side interface is fine, but the GBA side interface really does suck. Fortunately you can switch from the picture list to a text only rom list, and you really don't need to spend much time in the menus anyway.

 

[cmonster]

Thanks for all the helpful reply.

I have few more question: Is it true that DS-X have some kind of backup memory that stores all the gamefiles? If so, is it possible to erase a certain game off DS-X and put it back in later and still have it maintain the previous save file?

Also, is it possible to back up saves from the roms to the computer?

Again, thanks for your kind replies!

 

[Destructobot]

You can back up your saves with pretty much any card/cart.

 

[Impetus]

[12 x 8 = 96. The DS-X has 512MB internal memory.

512 / 64 = 8. That's 8 'GOOD DS games', as you said. 8 games is plenty for most users.

Bleach, Tales of the tempest, etc. are 1gbit.

DS-X is 512 mB. Remembering that with such devices, it isnt exactly 512 mB, but maybe about 500. (space used by the OS and the fact that storage devices are allowed to be a certain % off their claimed size) Thus, you wont be able to store 4 1Gbit roms, but 3.

My point being, is that you can't take 64 mB as the size of all your roms, but rather should be 96 mB, as an average between 64mB and 128mB.

Also, take away 1 rom because of the percentage shortage off 512 mB.

So in my opinion, no its too limiting. However the ds-x is drag and drop, you can easily replace games (you can live with not playing 8 games on the same day right). So my final conclusion is:

Make a list of the roms you want and their sizes. Then depending on what you want (average size of games, music/movie?) choose the right product.

Forgive me for my lack of grammar, i just had exams and am tired.

 

[kmihalj]

Well for now it is best to use combo ....

DS-X for DS games
and
EZ-Flash or M3 for GBA games ..... best of both worlds.

 

[cmonster]

[12 x 8 = 96. The DS-X has 512MB internal memory.

512 / 64 = 8. That's 8 'GOOD DS games', as you said. 8 games is plenty for most users.


Bleach, Tales of the tempest, etc. are 1gbit.

DS-X is 512 mB. Remembering that with such devices, it isnt exactly 512 mB, but maybe about 500. (space used by the OS and the fact that storage devices are allowed to be a certain % off their claimed size) Thus, you wont be able to store 4 1Gbit roms, but 3.

My point being, is that you can't take 64 mB as the size of all your roms, but rather should be 96 mB, as an average between 64mB and 128mB.

Also, take away 1 rom because of the percentage shortage off 512 mB.

So in my opinion, no its too limiting. However the ds-x is drag and drop, you can easily replace games (you can live with not playing 8 games on the same day right). So my final conclusion is:

Make a list of the roms you want and their sizes. Then depending on what you want (average size of games, music/movie?) choose the right product.

Forgive me for my lack of grammar, i just had exams and am tired.

Thanks for your input. Yea, I was planning to just drag and drop games I want as the days pass, which is why I asked if I could back up saves. If I could delete games and put them in later and still retain the savefile, then I have no problems with having limited storage; I'll just keep games on my computer and exchange them as needed.

Good plan? Yay or nay? I'm really leaning towards the DS-X, now I'm just waiting for my paycheck so I could go out and buy one. If my plan sucks, please tell me now before it's too late.

Thanks again for all your kind and friendly inputs.

 

[Destructobot]

Saves are stored in the same memory as the rom files. If you delete them without backing them up they will be gone.

Most slot 2 carts use SRAM for saving games(mainly for GBA compatibily I think), but it's only used temporarily until the cart can copy the save into the main flash memory. This is done when you go back into the flash cart's menu. After that you just copy the save file from the cart onto your computer to back it up. To restore the save you just copy it back.

The slot 1 cards like the DS-X should work the same way only without the SRAM. The saves are written directly to the flash memory. I think. I don't have one so I can't say for sure, but I doubt they could fit a battery for SRAM in a slot 1 card.

Your plan is a good one. That's exactly what I do with my G6.